Young men, women badly affected by high dowry in Paktia

GARDEZ (Pajhwok): High dowry still persisted notorious culture in southeastern Paktia and other provinces of the country that made the lives of young men and women difficult.

Zarghoona Hemmat, head of the Afghan Women Network (AWN), said young men and women could not live their married life together due to high dowry adding that the groom has to go abroad to earn the money and the bride spent her youth at father’s home.

Hemmat said youth have no option but to go abroad and spent years outside the country to earn money. Most of the youth, according to her, die on their way to foreign countries.

She said: “Economic problems and ignorance are the two main reasons behind high dowry. Most of the families are poor and want to marry their daughter against high dowry and majority of the people were unaware of the fact that high dowry was against the teaching of Islam.”

Women Affairs Director Nasrin Oriakhel said most of the time the girls married against high dowry faced with family violence and they are treated unfairly.

“After the marriage the bride faced with violence and often told that you had been married against huge amount of money, a fact many men and women faced after marriage,” said Oriakhel.

Najma, the resident of Ahmadkhel district and student of Law Faculty at Paktia University, said due to high dowry young men and women could not get married at proper time, their youth is wasted, often deprived of producing children and suffered from the negative impact of it for the entire life.

She said: “The time of marriage is defined and Islam had explained it if the man or woman is not married at the proper time their parents would be responsible because it is possible that the delay in the marriage may force them to commit sin.

Abdullah, the resident of Paktia, said he spent years in Saudi Arabia to earn money for the marriage. He said he was in Saudi Arabia when during his marriage.

“This is very bad culture, youth like us spent most of their youth in foreign. Some had reached the eldest age without getting marriage,” he said.

Women have asked their elders and ulema to take measures against high dowry and set minimum range for the dowry.